Christmas Gift Ideas

As we roll into the last week or so of primary school for the year, you might be considering giving a small Christmas gift to your child’s teacher(s).

I think it’s a nice idea at the end of the year to let teachers know how much they’re appreciated, and it’s also really nice for your kids to be able to give a present to someone who’s such a big part of their daily life.

With this in mind I did a little internet research to see what kinds of things teachers like to receive, and although it seems this varies widely, some gifts that are sure to be well-appreciated include stationery items (including quality journals or notebooks like the ones at The Paper Package:))… or a diary for next year… a nice bottle of wine… a book voucher… a lovely Christmas ornament… or even a gift basket. Realising that these involve a bit of cost however, it could be a good idea to join together with other parents to save the budget a little.

And speaking of cost… it really isn’t necessary to spend much money at all. I am sure any teacher would appreciate a heart-felt thank you card or note – especially if you take the time to specifically mention some of the ways that they have helped your child over the year (rather than just a generic “thanks”). And in our internet hunt we’ve also discovered some cute and creative ideas that don’t cost too much, and that could be fun to make with your kids…

Like this Reindeer Lunchbag idea from Family Fun.go.com. This would be great filled with some nice homemade goodies.

And staying with the theme, this cute Flannel Reindeer from Bumble Bee’s Craft Den is a great way of packaging a nice bar of soap…

Likewise this bag of Reindeer Noses (a.k.a.jaffas) from Craft Fairy also makes a super little gift…

Apples and teachers mix well together, so these simple but effective Candy Apple gifts from Somewhat Simple should make the grade…

For those of you with active little tackers, these rolls of Dynamite from Jasey’s Crazy Daisy are a bit of a blast…

Or for those with more studious offspring here are a couple of fabulous Wise Owl ideas from Lisa Storms…

So cute, what a hoot!

Moving on quickly to more pun-filled fun… how great would these sweet bags & “O-fish-ally the Best” labels from Eighteen25 be filled with that NZ all-time favourite, Chocolate Fish…

And sticking with the puns, these printable Flower Picks from Skip To My Lou look bloomin’ good!

And who could resist this final idea… it’s PRETTY. I don’t think it really matters what is inside the jar, but Simple As That‘s presentation is so simple and sweet it would melt the heart of Miss Trunchbull!

So thanks to all the teachers out there doing a fantastic job, trying to help all our kids get the eduction and opportunities they deserve!! Enjoy your holidays 🙂

So, did you know that married couples have differing views over whether they share the gift buying responsibilities evenly at Christmas?

Probably not surprisingly, only 20% of women agree that responsibility for choosing and buying gifts is shared evenly with their partner, while slightly more men (33%) think that they shoulder half the burden. Ha! I bet these numbers don’t only apply to married couples either.

What it means in practice though is that women are often the ones who have to choose gifts for the range of men in their life – fathers, fathers-in-law, husbands/partners, sons, brothers, brothers-in-law etc.

This can be quite a hard job… so to help you out this Christmas we’ve firstly compiled a few tips on choosing gifts for men, and then we wanted to show you our top 9 picks for Christmas gifts for guys from The Paper Package.

1. Some general gift choosing tips for guys:

Of course this is all very stereotypical, but you might like to keep in mind…

Most men prefer to receive gifts that they can put to immediate good use in either their work life, their home life or their spare time. So in terms of gift buying, this means thinking along the lines of practicality rather than sentimentality.

Following on from the above, consumables such as food and drink, and useable items such as golf balls, fishing bait/tackle, even socks (!) can in many situations be good, practical gift ideas for men.

Electronic items such as gadgets and games are popular gift choices for a lot of guys. You just have to be a little bit careful because men can be pretty specific about what they want (for example, about what exact game they want, or what exact model/version of gadgets they like). Exchange cards could be helpful here.

Tickets or arrangements to go somewhere/experience something can be a fun gift. It’s important to make sure you think about where he would really like to go (and this is sadly, not necessarily where you would like to go :)) Depending on his interests this could be a restaurant, sports game, concert, adventure experience etc.

Don’t be afraid to ask men directly what they would like for Christmas (see points on practicality and specificness above). But also don’t assume that “nothing” actually means “nothing”… it’s much more likely to mean “nothing in particular” or “nothing I can think of at the moment”.

If you’re having trouble choosing something and are just not sure what to give, then be careful not to over-compensate by spending more money. Lavish spending never guarantees a good gift.

Remember that when you give something to someone, you are also communicating something to them. So an interesting way to think about gift buying is to firstly spend some time thinking of what you most want to say to that person, and then try to choose something that reflects this. ie. focus first on the thought behind the gift rather than the physical gift itself.

Thanks for reading and we hope some of these tips/ideas help with your Christmas gift shopping. Next post, because we’re starting to head into the Christmas party season, we’re planning to show you some fun ideas for food/nibbles and decorating. Hope to catch you again then 🙂

In this era of gift cards and downloadable gifts it can be a real thrill to have a proper present to open on Christmas Day.

Gift cards etc, while they might be what people ask for, do lack a lot of the magic of a physical gift. Let’s be honest, you can’t really have the same fun opening an envelope with a plastic card in it that you can with a lovingly wrapped present. With a traditional gift there’s the whole anticipation and experience of unwrapping… picking it up, holding it in your hands, feeling the weight of it, bringing it up to your ear to listen as you shake it a little, and then finally starting to unwrap it. Great fun!!

One of the main reasons people don’t give each other actual gifts so much anymore is that we’re apparently all stressed by not knowing what to buy or worrying whether the recipient will like the gift. But this is a problem we can help you solve! With just a little bit of thought and some inspiration from our gift selections below, you can bring back all the charm and nostalgia of a traditional Christmas present to someone you care about (even if you do want to slip them a little gift card on the side as well!)

When I recently went into town to buy a birthday card for a friend I have to say I was shocked (SHOCKED!) by the price of a single card. After spending some time browsing I eventually found a nice card for $5.99, but that was after I had put back quite a few in the $7-9 range. Considering the time it had taken me, plus parking costs, the whole exercise was pretty expensive for just one card. And worse still, the next birthday that rolls around I’ll have to do it all over again!

That’s one of the reasons why we’re so pleased to be able to stock these boxed assorted card sets from the Rifle Paper Co. At $35.99 for a set of 8 they are great value as well as gorgeous, and having a box of these on hand will mean that you’re never at a loss for a top quality card to send.

Rifle Paper Co. is a boutique stationery brand and design studio based in Winter Park, Florida. Created by Anna Bond and her husband Nathan, the company’s products feature Anna’s whimsical designs in a lovely nostalgic and timeless style.

Rifle Paper Co. takes great care in choosing all of their stock and printing methods so that their designs come to life in an elegant, beautiful and durable way. All the cards are printed in the U.S. using environmentally friendly printing methods and papers, and are then assembled by hand. Apart from the vibrant pretty colours and cheerful compositions, it’s the quality of these products that makes them so special to both give and receive.

Wouldn’t you just love to open the mail and find one of these… from a friend saying hello, or maybe wishing you bonvoyage, or congratulating you on another year passing by? That’s why these types of products make such great gifts.. you get to give something beautiful and original, the recipient gets to receive something beautiful and original, and then they get to send someone else something beautiful and original. It’s a lovely win-win-win all round!

For a further look at the card sets we have in stock you can visit our website here, or to find out more about Rifle Paper Co. itself you could visit their blog here.

And finally, we wanted to show you these fantastic “Twas the Night Before Xmas” postcard sets. At $29.95 for a set of 10, these postcards will absolutely charm the socks off your friends or family, and make a great change from all those other run-of-the-mill Christmas cards.

Continuing on with our Christmas gift guides, today’s post is all about choosing gifts for children. Now, we’re not really talking here about parents choosing gifts for their own kids for Christmas (that is outside our expertise as mainly selling gift basket-type products), this is more a guide for extended family or friends who may not have a lot of day-to-day contact with the kids but would like to give them a present at Christmas.

In this post we want to start with some of our top tips for choosing gift ideas that kids will love, then go on to showcase some of our children’s gifts from The Paper Package, and finish up with a few fun examples of homemade gifts kids will love…

1. Top 5 Tips for Choosing Children’s Gifts

Tip # 1 – If at all possible – check with the parents first

Children’s interests can change markedly from year to year, so a quick email or phone call to the parents could be the best step towards finding that perfect gift. They often have interests (obsessions?) related to what is currently popular at school or on TV, and although the trend usually only lasts for a little while, at the time it can be all they want.

Tip # 2 – Online toy stores can have great gift buying guides

It’s really hard to keep up with what stages kids are at, so online stores where you can research what’s age-appropriate and popular can be a great help.

IQ Toys (www.iqtoys.co.nz) is an example of a great website in NZ for checking out kids toys. They have “shop by age” and “shop by price” categories, buyer’s guides for different age groups and customer reviews of products (note: we aren’t affiliated or associated with IQ Toys in any way 🙂 )

Other good places to look for ideas include lists of the latest book award winners (try NZ Post Children’s Book Awards Finalists) or toy awards.

Tip # 3 – There’s always the classics

There are just some gifts for children that never seem to go out of style – for example Lego, Barbies, crafts, stationery (especially for girls), stickers, magic tricks, bouncy balls and books.

Tip # 4 – Family presents make great Christmas gift ideas

Giving a gift to the whole family at Christmas time can be a nice idea. For example – movie passes, tickets to the local swimming complex, vouchers for a simple meal out or items like board games that the whole family can play.

Similarly, a family gift basket can make a great present. A family DVD with a big bag of popcorn (or packets of microwave popcorn if you’re posting the gift) and chocolate bars, minties etc. makes a great movie night basket. Or try a new tray of cupcake tins with cake mix, icings, liners and lots of sprinkles and little sweets for decoration – kids love making and decorating their own cup cakes, and this makes for a fun family-orientated holiday activity.

Tip # 5 – If in doubt – add something sweet!

A few lollies or sweets added to a gift for children always has the effect of turning it into a huge hit! It’s especially fun to add things that sensible parents might cringe at – like those huge lollipops as big as your face, or their own individual boxes of chocolates. 100% Guaranteed to please.

So, on to some of our own lovingly wrapped gift ideas…

2. Children’s Gifts from The Paper Package

First up, gift boxes. Although it might not be the first thing you think of in relation to children’s gifts, receiving their own “brown paper package tied up with string” in the post or in person can be a fun idea for Christmas. In our Christmas gift basket range we have 4 that are particularly suitable for children (as well as anybody else who is young at heart :)) Please click through the links or images for more details.

This awesome gift was given for a wedding, but the idea could be wonderfully adapted to make a children’s version (or an adventure basket). Thinking along the lines of… a butterfly catcher, binoculars, magnifying glass, notebook & pencil etc. along with the blanket and drink bottle (absolutely love the idea of the viewfinder too!)

It would be interesting to know how many of us still buy or give Christmas presents to our extended family? A lot of people seem to have agreements to just give gifts to their immediate family members or they run things like ballots or secret santa’s within the family to keep the costs and stress levels down. But, not-to-fear, if your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins etc. are still on your gift list, here are some great ideas…

This is a fantastic gift idea for your grandparents, or as a combined gift for your whole extended family. It’s a set of Table Topics conversation starters focused on family history and stories.Ideal for when you’re planning to spend some time with the whole family, this game can be great fun and who knows, you might even discover some hidden family secrets!

Thinking of older family members again, many of them may be diabetic or pre-diabetic. We have designed this Christmas gift box to be as sugar-free as possible, so it makes a great choice for anyone who needs to regulate their sugar intake…

For the younger family members, this gift box of tuck-shop treats would be perfect to send to nephews or nieces this Christmas. Packed with old-fashioned sweets like sherbert fizzies, fruit jellies, candy rock and gingerbread and wrapped in a gorgeous, nostalgic style with a handmade “jolly snowman” gift tag…

These fabulous note card sets make a great Christmas gift for your nana, aunty or sister-in-law. Made by Galison, New York, this lovely set contains 12 gorgeous note cards and matching envelopes in a keepsake magnetic-closure box. The beautiful “Winterthur” flowers vintage design comes from a 19th Century book of watercolours, originally produced for the porcelain work of Thomas Dimmock & Company in Hanley, England.

So that’s our top selection of Christmas gifts for grandparents and extended family… but of course there are plenty more gift ideas on our website that you might find suitable for Christmas this year, including some from our ranges of gifts for men, gifts for women or Christmas gift boxes.

We are starting our series of Christmas gift guides with this one for “neighbours, colleagues and acquaintances”. It is probably fair to say that these are people who you need/want to give Christmas presents to, while at the same time you don’t want to spend TOO much money on.

We’re thinking here of gifts for people like your neighbours (especially if they’re collecting your mail or feeding your cat over the holidays), your boss or co-workers, your customers or business acquaintances, and your children’s’ teachers, doctor or nurse etc. etc…

Some general gift buying tips:

Because these are people that you may not know very well personally, it is probably best to choose gifts that are fairly generic and non-personal (a good rule of thumb is that the less personal the relationship you have with somebody, the more generic the gift should be)

A good price range for these types of gifts would be around the $5.00 – $30.00 mark

You really want to avoid anything that has religious overtones, is tasteless or trashy or, worst of all, comes within the “humorous rude” category (especially for gifts that people have to open in front of others!)

And, as with all gifts (but especially inexpensive gifts), presentation is everything.

So, on with the gift suggestions. Firstly we will feature some suitable gifts we have available at The Paper Package, then we’ll go on to some other great gift ideas that you can put together yourself.

Gifts from The Paper Package:

We have a number of products available in the gifts under $30.00 price range that we particularly like as Christmas presents for your neighbours, colleagues or acquaintances.

This is a great idea for an inexpensive Christmas gift from Southern Living… your favourite biscuit dough in a roll, wrapped in a printout of the recipe/baking instructions (note: this does have to be kept in the fridge – but wouldn’t it be a great Christmas gift for your neighbours?!)

And a couple of other non-cook food related gift ideas that we’ve come across:

a pretty old teacup & saucer from a second-hand shop filled with an assortment of herbal teas

custom spice blends or bbq rubs in jars with recipes to accompany

Gifts in Jars

Talking about jars… turns out just about everything can look better in a jar!

Like mini marshmallows (from delia creates – a lovely blog that has some great ideas for neighbourly Christmas gifts)

Or bath salts…

[Click through the image to the recipe for these homemade bath salts, or there is another great tutorial here]

Or some gorgeous-looking homemade vanilla extract…

This beautiful DIY project from Style Me Pretty involves vodka, vanilla pods and 2 months infusing… so just a heads-up that if you’re interested in making it for Christmas gifts you will need to start it within the next couple of weeks 🙂

And moving on from jars… a lovely fresh herb plant also makes a festive & inexpensive Christmas gift

And finally, here’s one to appeal to the guys… reindeer beer! An inspired idea from Life of a Modern Mom

So that’s about it for our Christmas gift guide for neighbours, colleagues and acquaintances. Hopefully you’ve found something to inspire your Christmas giving… and remember to keep checking The Paper Package website for other great gift ideas (we’re busy adding new products all the time) ♥

As part of our Christmas Guide for 2011, today we want to share with you some hints and tips on Christmas Gift Planning.

Wouldn’t it make Christmas so much easier and less stressful if we could have all our gift buying planned and organised in plenty of time?

Well we’ve discovered that by following 4 important steps you can successfully plan your gift purchases in advance, leading to happier, worry-free Christmas giving.

Here are the steps:

1. Start Early and Be Prepared

Those boy scouts had it right! (or was that the Mounties?) Anyway, it will make your life a lot easier and less stressful if you start your Christmas planning early. As of today, there are 86 days to go until Xmas and it is not too early to start thinking about your gift buying now.

2. Make a Master Gift List

We will go into more depth about this important step very soon, suffice to say that using a list like this can take you from procrastination and panic to calm, cool and collected. We promise.

3. Prepare a Budget

Did that make you shiver a little? Preparing a budget isn’t the most fun part of Christmas planning, but if you want to look forward to a relaxed, happy, guilt-free and worry-free holiday time, then this step is essential.

4. Research Online

You are now able to find information and pricing on just about any gift you may want online (even handmade goods), so this makes the research step of gift planning very simple.

With your master gift list and budget close by, you should spend time researching prices and options for gifts online. Then once you have finalised your choices you can either buy directly from the websites or go directly to the physical retail store with your list in hand. No more stumbling from store to store in a daze of Christmas panic… just in and out with your list and that’s it!

OK, so those are the four steps, but how actually do you go about making a Master Gift List and Christmas Gift Budget? Here are some tips…

PREPARING THE MASTER GIFT LIST

Start by listing all the names of people you will have to buy gifts for. Make sure you include:

Immediate Family – children, wife/husband/partner, parents

Extended Family – grandparents, aunties/uncles, nephews/nieces etc

Friends & Neighbours – for looking after the cat etc.

Colleagues/Co-workers/Customers – including secret santa gifts etc.

Professionals – teachers, doctor etc

Once you’ve got everybody listed then next to that note down any gift ideas you might have for that person (or leave a space if you are drawing a blank). This doesn’t need to be too specific eg. dvd, novel, jewellery, homemade sweets, children’s school calendar etc.

Next to that you will want to note down your budget and/or cost for the gift(s).

And next to that, an indication of whether the gift will be delivered in person or if it needs to be mailed (and if so, by what date).

You can make this list up on your computer or there is this very handy printable…

(click through for link to pdf. document)

… but I’d probably prefer a good old notebook or journal. Then it’s easy to pop in your handbag or in the car for when you’re out and about (in case you need to jot something down), plus you can keep it from year to year which could come in handy.

CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS GIFT LISTS

If you are the parent of children who are still at home, especially young children, you might want to keep a separate gift list just for them.

With children you often want to spend the same amount of money on each child, and you might even want to make sure that they have around the same number of gifts to open. A master gift list is a great way to keep things like this organised (just make sure to hide it from prying little eyes!)

Overall, the idea of making a Master Gift List seems pretty straightforward and useful. Definitely worth a try this year.

PREPARING A CHRISTMAS BUDGET

Having a general budget for your Christmas spending is also essential. By doing a budget you will be able to prioritise and record your goals for Christmas in financial terms and that is GOOD.

It can be hard to remember sometimes, but Christmas is only ever as “commercialised” as people want it to be, and it can be a happy and joyful time on any budget. It’s therefore up to each family to decide for themselves what’s most important to them at Christmas, and prepare a budget that reflects this.

For example, for one family the annual Christmas holiday may be more important than Christmas gifts or social events, and so their budget should be focused on this. For another family it might be most important to give to a charity at Christmas, and so this is where they should put most of their resources.

Doing a Christmas budget will mean that you’re more likely to end up having the kind of Christmas you really want as well as avoiding the stress, upset and guilt of over-spending.

CHRISTMAS GIFT BUDGETING

In terms of specific gift budgeting for Christmas, here are a few things worth noting:

You can either start with your master gift list, estimating an amount that you want to spend on each person, or you can start with your budget and divide this up amongst the names on the gift list. Either way you might have to keep adjusting things to ensure that you end up with both a total amount that is affordable and reasonable, and a gift list that you are comfortable with.

The value of a gift is not the price you pay for it – it is the thought and feeling and preparation you put into it. Beautiful or creative presentation also adds to the perceived value of a gift.

I know, I know!! It is ridiculous to be talking about Christmas this early in the year. I am sure you will NOT want to be hearing about xmas gift buying etc. just at the moment. But because we want to be able to bring you so many great resources and guides for Christmas this year… well I’m afraid we are starting early!

There are now 89 days left until Christmas… and over the next couple of months we are planning a series of posts that we hope could help make some of our Christmas gift buying and organising a little bit easier.

First off, we want to start with general tips onChristmas Gift Planning, like making up a master gift list, setting your budget etc.

These guides will feature gifts from The Paper Package (after all, they are the only ones we know much about!) but also homemade & handmade gift ideas and (where we can find the information) lists of the “most popular” gifts for each category.

We also want to share with you some other Christmas-sy stuff like:

xmas decorating

xmas food + drink

teacher gift ideas (for the end of the school year)

secret santa gift ideas

free printable gift tags and cards

creative xmas gift wrapping

last minute gift ideas

and anything else that comes up in the meantime!

So, apologies for scaring anybody with the Christmas talk, but the earlier we start planning the more relaxed our Christmas will be (or that’s the theory anyway :))

A post on Christmas Gift Planning will be up on Friday… until then we’d love you to check out the first of our Christmas Gift Boxes for 2011 to be added to the website (there’s only 3 finished so far). And we’d be really interested in your thoughts & ideas on what you think makes a great Christmas gift basket or hamper…

If you’re like most people you might suffer a little bit of stress around choosing gifts… stress that comes from not knowing whether the recipient of your gift is going to love what you’ve got them, or hate it and pass it on to the next unlucky recipient as soon as possible.

That’s one of the reasons why we are so enthusiastic about selling and using O-Check Design Graphics products in our gift boxes – we think they make really fantastic gifts that will definitely not be “re-gifted”. And here’s some reasons why:

Their products are original and exclusive. In fact many of them are limited editions. This means they are not the kind of thing you will find in every stationery or gift shop throughout the country, let alone at the big chain stores. It’s really exciting to open a gift and find something lovely that you haven’t seen before.

They are practical as well as beautiful. Not everybody gets obsessive over stationery (although many people do!), but it is something that most of us use at work or at home… memo pads, notebooks, key rings, pencil cases, journals etc. etc… even expandable rulers!

They have a specific and cohesive style. Which means you can easily guess whether your gift recipient will love them or not. We think of them appealing to people whose personal style leans towards vintage but simple. Nostalgic but not gimmicky. Romantic but not cheesy. In other words, people with taste like ours! (Good taste we like to call it :))

They are environmentally friendly, using recycled products and soy-based inks along with quality, natural materials such as linen, leather, wood and metal. So if this issue is important to your gift recipient or yourself, you can be reassured that this manufacturer is environmentally aware.

They really have an inherent warmth and charm all of their own. Their journals are reminiscent of hardcover books your parents or grandparents would have read, while the travel/postage imagery, french wording and inscriptions on many of the items are quirky and interesting.

They perfectly suit the particular style of gift wrapping and presentation that we use at The Paper Package. Simple wrapping papers, natural twine, vintage motifs etc.

So, now we have convinced you of how great these products are, you might like to check out the O-Check Design Graphics gift ideas we currently have available at The Paper Package.

But we also wanted to share with you some products we have on order which will be available for gift ideas this Christmas (to keep in mind for the Chrissy presents :)):

Owl Hard Cover Notebook

This is an elegant book bound notebook with 144 lined pages – perfect for someone to fill the bookcase with stories of their own! Has a fabric cover with a lovely vintage owl silk screen print.

Wood Pencil Stand

This stylish wood product will help organise your office or study so that you can conveniently find all of your pens and pencils! The simple, clean design complements any desk arrangement, so it also makes a flexible gift idea.

Boxed Christmas Tag Set

The Noel Tag set is a beautifully packaged set of 25 Christmas themed gift tags. The set comes in an originally designed wood gift box and has 25 tags in total – 5 each of 5 different designs. Each tag is 6 x 10cm and has an endearing image and sentiment.

If you would like us to let you know when any of these products become available, or would like any further information regarding any of our gift boxes or items please don’t hesitate to contact us.

And finally, if you like the style of O-Check Design Graphics, they also make available monthly downloadable wallpapers for your desktop. I have just put the September one on my computer – and it really is lovely…

P.S. O-Check’s signature tagline is Spring Come, Rain Fall. How perfect for New Zealand in September!